5 Things We Learned From The Midterm Elections

The 2018 midterm election results offered a series of contrasts. Republicans lost control of the House, but picked up seats in the Senate. Many Republican House members who embraced President Donald Trump lost, but some Republican Senate and gubernatorial candidates who backed the president won. The exit polls showed a majority of voters disapprove of Trump’s job as president — yet turnout was high among Republican voters.

Losing the House is a major blow for Republicans. Still, there were some bright spots for Trump and Republicans as they look ahead to the next two years and the 2020 presidential election. Here are some of the night’s key takeaways.

Democrats entered Election Day needing to flip 23 House seats to retake the chamber. They accomplished that goal easily, and added enough extra seats to pad their majority. Winning back the House was a major victory for the party. Since the GOP’s House takeover in 1994, Democrats have only controlled the House for four years (2007 to 2011). Now, they have another shot. It’s also a big win for House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, who is poised to return for a second stint as House speaker.

Pelosi has a proven track record of keeping her caucus together on tough votes, unlike retiring House Speaker Paul Ryan and John Boehner before him. (Last year, not a single House Democrat voted for the GOP bill to real the Affordable Care Act, and zero Democrats voted for the tax bill). Can Pelosi, assuming she wins the election for speaker, continue to rule the House Democratic caucus with an iron grip? To read more go to the link below: